Northern Educate sports training school eyes national expansion

Third grader Mason Johnson from Lakeville stopped and did some work on his laptop atop some hockey equipment bags--in between academic classes and ice hockey ice time at Northern Educate Hockey Academy, a K-12 school with three hours of ice time each day is a program is on the cusp of a massive expansion--at the Eagan Ice Arena Tuesday morning May 21, 2013. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)

They're adding new sports -- figure skating, soccer and lacrosse -- and plan to enroll 500 students in programs by fall.

The Blacks started Northern Educate in 2011 at Eagan Civic Arena with just seven students and will finish the school year with nearly 100.

"Other sports were always part of the plan," said Shawn Black. "We allow our kids to have great academics and follow their passion."

This fall, Northern Educate will offer programs at Eagan Civic Arena, National Sports Center in Blaine, Vadnais Heights Sports Center and the Eden Prairie Community Center. Tuition ranges from $9,500 to $18,500, depending on the sport, for students to spend half their day in class and the other half training.

It's a model that the Blacks say is in high demand.

Their expansion has been driven by word of mouth from students' families and friends searching for a better balance of academics and athletics in a youth sports world that is increasingly competitive.

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Shawn Black said the programs save students and their families from practices before dawn and games late at night.

"We give families their lives back," he said.

That ragged lifestyle was familiar to Stephen "Yuro" Yurichuk, Northern Educate's head hockey coach. The Toronto native grew up "chasing the training," spending all hours of the day on the ice.

"There's no doubt my academics suffered," said Yurichuk, who plans to enroll his young son in a Northern Educate program.

It's also an approach that has raised eyebrows among critics who worry 400 hours of intense sports training a year could lead to burnout or give students unrealistic expectations.

Tom Kowalski, Midwest regional director for the National Consortium of Academics and Sports, a nonprofit working to promote positive social change through sports, said a growing number of young athletes are enrolling in intense sports training programs.

"I find kids are being pushed pretty hard into these types of programs," Kowalski said. "We know the number of kids that make it to the next level where a program like this would pay off is minimal.

High school age male and female students worked on their on-ice conditioning at Northern Educate Hockey Academy, a K-12 school with three hours of ice time each day is a program is on the cusp of a massive expansion--at the Eagan Ice Arena Tuesday morning May 21, 2013. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)

What are these kids going to do when they get out of these programs that focus so much on their sport?"

Northern Educate also has drawn interest from the Minnesota Department of Education, where officials have questions about the private school that uses online charter school curriculum for many of its students.

"We have questions about instructional time," said Charlene Briner, the state education commissioner's chief of staff. "However, they're not a public charter school, and there is not an authorizer we can answer those questions through."

The Blacks say they'll put their school curriculum up against any public school. They say the "hyperfocused" blend of online and classroom instruction gives students round-the-clock access to teachers with low student-to-staff ratios.

If athletes' grades are poor, they risk losing training time.

"We give kids a lot of personal attention," said Kathy Black, who serves as the school's academic director. "They're not just sitting in front of computers."

Shawn Black added that Northern Educate students have fewer distractions so staff can maximize instruction time to fit an entire school day into about four hours.

"We've taken the fluff out of education," he said.

Yurichuk said Northern Educate coaches work to manage students' expectations.

"It's a dream," Yurichuk said. "You better have that dream, that's the beauty of sport. Kids aren't dumb. They start to realize.

Kindergartener Colt Black colored in a workbook during class at Northern Educate Hockey Academy, a K-12 school with three hours of ice time each day is a program is on the cusp of a massive expansion--at the Eagan Ice Arena Tuesday morning May 21, 2013. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)

Shari Kraber of Blaine enrolled her 14-year-old daughter Rachel into the figure skating academy -- not with dreams of Olympic gold, but with a desire for more free time.

"I'm not going to save myself any money," she said, "but I'm hoping to save a lot of time."

Between the Northern Blades National Sports Center Figure Skating Club, theater on ice and synchronized skating, her daughter spends three to four hours training six days a week.

"By consolidating the time that we spend on schooling and doing skating during the day, it will free up our evening time so we can do more things," she said.

Rachel aspires to be a figure skating coach, so Kraber sees the $18,500 tuition as an investment.

"It is very expensive, and it's going to be a stretch, but to us it's worth it," she said. "She's always been really good with children, so she wants to teach children how to skate. She can make good money doing that."

Kraber said she believes online schooling can be effective as long as there are opportunities for socialization. Her daughter was one of 10 figure skaters enrolled as of two weeks ago, she said.

"It's a small-school environment ... kind of like the one-room schoolhouse, just with computers added," she said.

POPULAR WITH SPORTS FACILITIES

Northern Educate's model also is attractive for the operators of sports facilities around the country that often sit empty during the school day. A number of facility operators have asked the Blacks to consider lease agreements.

They are finalizing a five-year deal with the National Sports Center in Blaine for renting ice time and the dry-land training center for hockey and figure skating programs, said Barclay Kruse, the center's media director. Kruse would not disclose the amount of the contract, which has not been finalized.

Northern Educate isn't the first education program to explore using the private center. Kruse said other groups have suggested starting a charter school on-site, but the center turned them down.

The Sports Center does not have open space for Northern Educate to rent for classrooms during the school day, but the school is considering leasing space nearby for classrooms, he said.

POPULAR WITH COACHES

Northern Educate is just as popular with coaches as it is with student-athletes.

Shawn Black said he's interviewed hundreds of coaches interested in joining his team. "If you look at the career choices for elite players and coaches, there just aren't a lot of options," he said.

Northern Educate recruited Aime Caines, who grew up playing hockey and lacrosse and now is an assistant coach with the Minnesota Swarm, with a philosophy of hiring well-known local coaches and players.

Caines has coached lacrosse at every level and believes the sport's growing popularity will drive demand for Northern Educate's programs.

Much of the interest comes from students already in the school's hockey program. Caines believes dual training could help students avoid burnout.

QUESTIONS REMAIN

Parent Kevin Bourassa of New Brighton is undecided whether he will enroll his 13-year-old son Gunner into the hockey academy again, even though he said his son "loved it" and did well academically.

"He definitely became a better skater and player, there's no question," he said. "You can't spend 450 hours on the ice and not get better."

But financial concerns and Gunner's performance on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, which measure whether students are meeting state learning benchmarks, will play into the final decision.

"I want to see how he did amongst his peers," he said.

He said his son didn't appear to be burned out from the hockey training and never complained. Gunner also played for the Irondale/St. Francis Pee Wee AA team at night and on weekends.

"He's beside himself knowing that he might not go back," he said.

If Gunner does return, the drive to the Vadnais Heights arena, where he wants to go, will be much shorter than the one to Eagan, Bourassa said.

"It was a learning year," he said. "I'll be honest, there were a lot of people that looked at it a lot of different ways, both positive and negative. A lot of people just said, 'I can't believe you're doing this.'â "

A dummy is pulled across the goal mouth to screen off and block senior Zach Denny from Birmingham ALA from a slap shot-- during goalie academy at Northern Educate Hockey Academy, a K-12 school with three hours of ice time each day is a program is on the cusp of a massive expansion--at the Eagan Ice Arena Tuesday morning May 21, 2013. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)